Space industry career in the US for Europeans

[scientist]

Hello!

I am a European and I want to work in space industry (which I decided after already spending over a decade of being a particle physicist). It seems there are more space-industry possibilities in the US than anywhere else in the world. But as a non-US resident, I'm hitting the obvious roadblock: ITAR. I have been already rejected by SpaceX due to this, and every other US space company has the same requirement.

But then last month I read this article: European Commission, fearing brain drain to US, takes sharper look at space investment strategy

So I'm confused. How can EC be worried about space-related brain-drain, when USA isn't letting Europeans in?

I know there are some possible solutions, like get first employed by a foreign branch of a US company or a non-US company that has a US branch, but this drastically reduces the number of available options for a job applicant.

Since there are many very knowledgeable people on this forum, I was wondering if someone could offer some insight on this contradiction, or perhaps help me find another way around this issue.

Cheers

[Eric Hedman]

This passage seems to explain the contradiction: “These are our scientists. They are [educated] in Europe. They started the business in Europe. They did initial training in Europe, but now they are in the United States working for the companies in the United States.”

I haven't heard of this before.  Are there startups that started in Europe and have moved to the US?  Maybe that's the loophole.  Can you look for companies that have moved to the US or are going to?  I don't know how ITAR applies to technology being brought here from Europe, but maybe that is the way to come.

Just out of curiosity with training and experience in particle physics, what do you want to do in the space industry?

[scientist]

This passage seems to explain the contradiction: “These are our scientists. They are [educated] in Europe. They started the business in Europe. They did initial training in Europe, but now they are in the United States working for the companies in the United States.”

I haven't heard of this before.  Are there startups that started in Europe and have moved to the US?  Maybe that's the loophole.  Can you look for companies that have moved to the US or are going to?  I don't know how ITAR applies to technology being brought here from Europe, but maybe that is the way to come.

Thanks for your reply Eric.

I found some start-ups on the internet but not that many. From my search it seems that most open jobs are in bigger companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, SSL,... Small start-ups seem to be only a small part of the job market, although may be I'm just not looking hard enough.

I'm starting to think that perhaps the politicians quoted in the article were exaggerating and the reality is not like they say.

Just out of curiosity with training and experience in particle physics, what do you want to do in the space industry?

the best fitting area for me is space radiation environment and effects analysis and testing, but unfortunately the demand for this is relatively low (typically the companies look rather for an electronics engineer who then does such work within a larger set of duties, not a dedicated physicist). I wouldn't mind trying other engineering work, but with my training being specialised in such a different direction I'm not confident I could could convince an employer that I could be good at that

[Machdiamond]

The USA is certainly letting Europeans in to get ITAR jobs as long as their intent is to become permanent residents and they apply for and get a green card (typically the EB1 or EB2-NIW route).

[scientist]

Thanks Machdiamond. But that seems to be only a theory, in practice I find that most companies write in the job description that being a permanent resident is a requirement before applying (for example SSL job website didn't even let me complete the application process when I input a non-US address).

SpaceX writes in the job description only that the candidate has to be eligible for obtaining a residence permit, so in accordance with what you wrote. But in reality they rejected me anyway while citing ITAR, so it looks like in practice they don't want to deal with international candidates when they might have a domestic one. It looks like they choose the simpler solution before considering the actual suitability of the candidates. Which would be perhaps a bit hypocritical since their founder is from South Africa originally...

[Machdiamond]

It is not a theory, I speak from personal experience as European and I have worked in the US via three different routes over the past 20 years (H1B, TN, EB1A), including ITAR work through a TAA on my name.

SpaceX has sponsored dozens of green cards through EB1A, but it costs them a minimum of $10k-$15k in attorney fees and the process takes months up to a year and a half. Therefore they must be particularly picky on who they accept to sponsor, especially because once in the US you are not obligated to work for them (would be poor form though).

If your primary background had been something highly desirable for SpaceX like known expertise in propulsion or some unique PhD on new materials, you probably would have received a different response from them. Your big issue is that you are changing career path so that's a red flag in your situation.

If you do the green card process yourself and after you get it you apply for a job in the US space industry, that will considerably lower the bar for you to get in because your potential employer will not have to go through all these expenses and delays.

[scientist]

Thanks for the clarification. That makes a lot of sense.

By doing the process myself you still refer to EB1A, right? This means demonstrating at least three "extraordinary ability" criteria. I thought it sounded like a tall order, but maybe it is worth thinking about further.
(I'm assuming here that it wouldn't cost me those $10k-$15k , that would be a showstopper)

[Machdiamond]

Yes. I think it is doable to apply for an EB1A or the lower bar EB2-NIW yourself without the help of an immigration lawyer, but it is a lot of work, time and research to get it all right.

There are many ways and many forums that discuss such topic. It's all about determination.